History

Year by Year Results: 1989

When it comes to the Browns' AFC Championship Games against the Denver Broncos, there was The Drive in 1986, The Fumble in 1987 and The ...uh, whatever in 1989.

The last one -- the unnamed one -- is when the Browns fell 37-21 at Mile High Stadium in a game that had virtually none of the drama and suspense of the previous two. The end result was the same, though, as the Browns were denied that elusive first Super Bowl berth for the third time in four years.

This would be the last season of the Browns' great run through the last half of the 1980s. Since then, the Browns have made the playoffs just twice and have never gotten back to the conference title game, so that 16-point loss to Denver - and the 1989 season overall - are still frozen in the memory of many Cleveland fans.

It was a season of ups and downs - way up and way down, for that matter.

The Browns, who would finish 9-6-1 and capture their fourth AFC Central title in five years, started the season with a bang, defeating Pittsburgh 51-0 in the opener to hand the arch rival Steelers their most lopsided loss in club history. What a way for new Browns head coach Bud Carson, a former longtime Steelers assistant, to break in. Talk about making a good first impression.

There was also a 16-13 last-play, regular-season triumph over the Broncos, the Browns' first defeat of Denver since 1974.

The Browns began the year 3-1 and then went to 7-3 after four straight wins. At that point, they appeared to be in great shape.

What followed was a nightmare that nearly cost the Browns a shot at the playoffs. They tied 10-10 in an emotion-charged home game with the Kansas City Chiefs, coached by Marty Schottenheimer, who had been fired as Browns head coach just 11 months before.

Then came a 13-10 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, who would finish just 7-9. An ugly 21-0 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals, and a 23-17 overtime setback at Indianapolis, rounded out the lost month.

The Browns salvaged their season by defeating NFC Central champion Minnesota 23-17 in OT, and the Houston Oilers 24-20. With that fast finish, especially the victory at the Astrodome, they edged out the Oilers and Steelers (tied at 9-7) for the division crown, but both of those clubs also made the playoffs as wild cards.

Carson, considered a defensive genius, had been brought in by the Browns to get them over the hump and into the Super Bowl. The Browns knew the road to the world title went through Denver, and they thought Carson would be just the man to figure out a way to stop John Elway, the Broncos' Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who had bedeviled them in the 1986 and '87 conference championship games.

Through the regular season, the addition of Carson's keen mind seemed to be exactly what the Browns needed. Scrapping Schottenheimer's read-and-react 3-4 defensive alignment and implementing an aggressive, go-after-the-passer 4-3 scheme, the Browns were holding most opposing offenses in check. That, coupled with a productive offense led by quarterback Bernie Kosar (18 TD passes and 14 interceptions) and wide receivers Webster Slaughter (team-leading 65 catches and six scores) and Reggie Langhorne (60 catches), added up to a winning formula.

The offense kept chugging in the playoffs, but the defense, made up mostly of aging veterans, began to wear out. The Browns had to hold on for dear life to beat the Buffalo Bills 34-30 in the divisional round before losing in Denver. So in the playoffs, the Browns ended up surrendering 67 points in just two games -- way, way too many.

Disappointed but determined, the Browns came back in 1990 to give it another try, but they finished just 3-13, causing Carson to be fired after nine games. His tenure as head coach -- and the Browns' efforts to get past Elway and the Broncos and make it to the Super Bowl with that group of players -- was over.

Steve King,Staff Writer

Year Results

Preseason Results

National Football League: 1-4

Philadelphia Eagles at London (73,677) 13-17

at Detroit Lions (44,536) 25-24

Pittsburgh Steelers (71,939) 21-24

at Phoenix Cardinals (36,667) 7-21

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (62,486) 10-27

Regular Season Results

Regular Season

Playoffs

Combined Record

League

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

NFL

9

6

1

.600

1

1

0

.500

10

7

1

.588

Postseason Results

Divisional Playoff Game

Date

Opponent

Result

Score

1/6

Buffalo Bills

Win

34-30

Conference Championship Game

Date

Opponent

Result

Score

1/14

at Denver Broncos

Loss

37-21

Date

Result

Opponent

Att.

9/10

W51-0

at Pittsburgh Steelers

57,928

9/17

W38-24

New York Jets

73,516

9/25

L14-21

at Cincinnati Bengals

55,996

10/1

W16-13

Denver Broncos

78,637

10/8

L10-13

at Miami Dolphins (OT)

58,444

10/15

L7-17

Pittsburgh Steelers

78,840

10/23

W27-7

Chicago Bears

78,722

10/29

W28-17

Houston Oilers

78,765

11/5

W42-31

at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

69,162

11/12

W17-7

at Seattle Seahawks

58,978

11/19

T10-10

Kansas City Chiefs (OT)

77,922

11/23

L10-13

at Detroit Lions

65,624

12/3

L0-21

Cincinnati Bengals

76,236

12/10

L17-23

at Indianapolis Colts (OT)

58,550

12/17

W23-17

Minnesota Vikings (OT)

70,777

12/23

W24-20

at Houston Oilers

58,852

AFC Playoffs

1/6

W34-30

Buffalo Bills

77,706

AFC Championship

1/14

L21-37

at Denver Broncos

76,046

Score By Periods

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

OT

Tot.

Browns

48

112

104

64

6

---

334

Opponents

34

67

82

62

9

---

254

Team Statistics

Browns

Opponent

Total First Downs

285

276

Rushing

101

93

Passing

161

161

Penalty

23

22

3rd Down: Made/Att

82/213

82/230

3rd Down Pct.

38.50%

35.70%

4th Down: Made/Att

1/9

10/16

4th Down Pct.

11.10%

62.50%

Total Net Yards

5,042

4,831

Avg. Per Game

315.1

301.9

Total Plays

1,011

1,031

Avg. Per Play

5

4.7

Net Yards Rushing

1,609

1,670

Avg. Per Game

100.6

104.4

Total Rushes

448

446

Net Yards Passing

3,433

3,161

Avg. Per Game

214.6

197.6

Sacked/Yards Lost

34/192

45/359

Gross Yards

3,625

3,520

Attempts/Completions

529/309

540/269

Completion Pct.

58.40%

49.80%

Had Intercepted

15

27

Punts/Avg.

97/39.4

94/40.4

Net Punting Avg.

97/35.0

94/35.1

Penalties/Yards Lost

128/973

122/985

Fumbles/Ball Lost

23/15

32/11

Touchdowns

41

30

Scoring

Ru

Pa

St

Df

PAT

2Ru

2Pa

FG

Saf

TP

Bahr, Matt

0

0

0

0

40/40

0

0

16/24

0

88

Metcalf, Eric

6

4

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

60

Slaughter, Webster

0

6

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

36

Manoa, Tim

3

2

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

30

Tillman, Lawyer

0

2

1

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

18

Browns

14

20

1

6

40/40

0

0

16/24

0

334

Opponents

8

20

2

0

29/29

0

0

15/28

0

254

Rushing

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Metcalf, Eric

187

633

3.4

43t

6

Manoa, Tim

87

289

3.3

22

3

Jones, Keith

43

160

3.7

15

1

Redden, Barry

40

180

4.5

38t

1

Mack, Kevin

37

130

3.5

12

1

Browns

448

1,609

3.6

43t

14

Opponents

446

1,670

3.7

39t

8

Receiving

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Slaughter, Webster

65

1,236

19

97t

6

Langhorne, Reggie

60

749

12.5

62t

2

Metcalf, Eric

54

397

7.4

68t

4

Newsome, Ozzie

29

324

11.2

31

1

Brennan, Brian

28

289

10.3

38

0

Browns

309

3,625

11.7

97t

20

Opponents

269

3,520

13.1

68

20

Interceptions

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Wright, Felix

9

91

10.1

27t

1

Gash, Thane

3

65

21.7

36t

2

Johnson, Mike

3

43

14.3

23

0

Minnifield, Frank

3

29

9.7

25

0

Harper, Mark

3

8

2.7

8

0

Browns

27

300

11.1

36t

4

Opponents

15

306

20.4

77

1

Punting

No

Yds

Avg

In20

TB

LG

BLK

Wagner, Bryan

97

3,817

39.4

32

6

60

0

Browns

97

3,817

39.4

32

6

60

0

Opponents

94

3,797

40.4

20

8

57

1

Punt Returns

No

FC

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

McNeil, Gerald

49

15

496

10.1

49

0

Browns

49

15

496

10.1

49

0

Opponents

49

13

418

8.5

27

0

Kickoff Returns

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Metcalf, Eric

31

718

23.2

49

0

Oliphant, Mike

5

69

13.8

28

0

McNeil, Gerald

4

61

15.3

21

0

Jones, Keith

4

42

10.5

25

0

Braggs, Stephen

2

20

10

18

0

Browns

50

932

18.6

49

0

Opponents

58

1,175

20.3

73

0

Field Goals

1-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50+

Tot

Bahr, Matt

0/0

5/5

6/8

4/9

1/2

16/24

Browns

0/0

5/5

6/8

4/9

1/2

16/24

Opponents

0/0

3/3

7/9

4/14

1/2

15/28

Passing

Att

Cmp

Yds

Pct

Av/At

th

th%

Int

Int%

LG

Tkld

Rating

Kosar, Bernie

513

303

3,533

59.1

6.89

18

3.5

14

2.7

97t

34/192

80.3

Pagel, Mike

14

5

60

35.7

4.29

1

7.1

1

7.1

18

0/0

43.8

Metcalf, Eric

2

1

32

50

16

1

50

0

0

32t

0/0

135.4

Browns

529

309

3,625

58.4

6.85

20

3.8

15

2.8

97t

34/192

80.1

Opponents

540

269

3,520

49.8

6.52

20

3.7

27

5

68

45/359

62.3

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more